As fighting for the northern Syrian town of Kobane raged in early October, videos of Islamic State militants speaking the Azerbaijani language began appearing on YouTube (RFE/RL, October 14). These video clips were followed by reports about Azerbaijani nationals found among dead Islamic State fighters... MORE

Despite Western economic sanctions, Iranian-Turkish relations have been developing in many different directions in recent years. Illustratively, on October 24–25, the Eastern Anatolia Development Agency (DAKA), Iran’s Foreign Ministry Institution for Political and International Studies (IPIS) and the Turkish Asian Center for Strategic Studies (TASAM)... MORE

Both Armenia and Azerbaijan are seeking to link their national railways with those of Iran, something that could be an economic lifesaver for Yerevan and an additional outlet for Baku’s exports of Caspian oil and gas. At present, Azerbaijan has the advantage because it does... MORE

Between July 30 and August 4, flash skirmishes erupted along the Armenia-Azerbaijan contact line. While small-scale ceasefire violations have been relatively common, the recent events caused the highest casualty rates this frozen conflict has seen since 2008. According to official sources, 13 Azerbaijani soldiers were... MORE

With the implementation of new Western sanctions against Russia as a result of the continued instability in eastern Ukraine, the other post-Soviet countries are closely monitoring foreign policy developments inside the United States. The rapidly cooling relations between Washington and Moscow were most recently borne... MORE

Many commentators in Moscow, Baku and Ankara have expressed the hope that the inclusion of countries in the South Caucasus in Moscow’s Eurasian Economic Union (EaEU) will lead to the resolution of the Karabakh dispute. But a Russian expert says that the inclusion of Armenia... MORE

As the Syrian conflict enters its fourth year, more media attention has recently been devoted to the growing number of Azerbaijanis fighting in the war. Increased appearances by Azerbaijanis in various videos, online discussions and news releases have attracted wider attention from journalists to find... MORE

Over the last 25 years, many proposals have been suggested for the resolution of the Karabakh conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia. Among them have been a swapping of territories between the two former Soviet republics and autonomy for Karabakh at the level approaching that of... MORE

Earlier this month, the well-known Dagestani weekly newspaper, Novoe Delo, attacked the mayor of the city of Derbent for what it regarded as a servile attitude toward neighboring Azerbaijan. Journalist Ramazan Rajabov wrote: “Against all the protests and clamor by the local Lezgin population, the... MORE

During June 2014, Russian ministers and high-level officials descended on Baku to pursue Russia’s lengthening agenda with Azerbaijan. At the beginning of the month, Economic Minister Alexei Ulyukaev came to discuss economic cooperation and invited Azerbaijan to join the Russia-led Eurasian Economic Union (Interfax-Azerbaijan, June... MORE